


The Bone Breaker and the Bookie

by Ressick



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/F, Mafia AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-03-19
Packaged: 2017-12-04 00:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/704603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ressick/pseuds/Ressick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellis Grey's criminal empire floundered after her death until her daughter picked up the reins. Meet Meredith Grey's chief enforcer Callie Torres and her bookie lover Arizona Robbins in a world of violence, love, and honor amongst thieves. Mafia AU that's all tumblr's fault. Rating for violence, language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _Disclaimer_ : Most of the characters belong to Shonda. These versions have potty-mouth issues and violent tendencies.  
>  _A/N_ : This started out as a random one-shot on tumblr, and then grew to three chapters in a day. Now I'm just writing, writing, writing. No promises on how this goes, folks.

**Prologue**

Ellis Grey's criminal empire floundered after her death. Until her estranged daughter Meredith came back from the East Coast to take up the reins. Soon befriending bookkeeper and source of general mayhem Cristina Yang, the so-called Twisted Sisters quickly became the go-to women of Seattle's seedy underworld. You needed a heart? They had one in a box for you. Funding for a new building or protection during the construction thereof? They were IT.

Until Callie Torres, Enforcer Extraordinaire, came up the ranks. The disowned daughter of a criminal magnate in Miami, Callie was known for breaking bones. Lots of bones. Somehow ending up as Cristina's roommate after both their relationships went down the tubes, they became friends, and Callie's talent for first breaking and then setting the bones of their enemies became incredibly handy when the Mercy family, from the west side of Seattle, started to encroach on the Grey empire. With the muscle and physical power to back them up, they became even more of a name in the Northwest underground after they took over the Mercys, absorbing the best business and people, discarding the rest.

They had a lot of talent, a lot of money, and a lot of work to do. Enter Arizona Robbins, a happy-go-lucky corner-store bookie who fell in love with Callie. Possessed of a cheerful dimpled smile and a ruthless cunning that came out when least expected, she was the final element to join this powerful cabal. Meredith's overarching general business sense was handy, Cristina's sharp acumen vital, Callie's brute power necessary, but it was Arizona's sharp financial intelligence that truly thrust the Grey empire into the forefront of everything from small-time gambling to anything that needed doing in City Hall. Arizona protects what she loves, and she loves her Calliope, as well as the friends they've made together.

Now this Femme Mafia of Seattle is faced with its greatest challenge - the new family in town, the Averys. Coming from Boston with a lot of money and a lot of power, these West Coasters are being elbowed by old East Coast arrogance. In the form of Jackson Avery, the young and arrogant son of Catherine Avery - the head of a criminal empire that runs all of Boston as well as large sections of Rhode Island and the Cape - they will face an unprecedented challenge to their power, their leadership, and their city. Is Seattle ready for the showdown?

**Chapter ONE**

Callie Torres looked up from cleaning her favorite baseball bat at the sound of her girlfriend's irritated huff. "What is it?" she asked.

Arizona glanced over, "These financial statements are crap. Utter dog crap. When you go over to  _talk_  to Mister Jacobs tomorrow, you'll have to get me the real ones. Bring Alex with you, I'll tell him what to look for to make sure they aren't trying to hustle us. Again."

Callie nodded, wiping her bat down one final time. "Your protégé is useful. Mine, on the other hand, still can't read a balance sheet."

The blonde laughed, "Kepner is better as pure muscle, sweetheart. Don't try to remake her in Karev's image. Do you know how hard it is to find a wrestling champ who can suss out cashflow issues?"

Her girlfriend huffed good-naturedly. "You lucked out."

"So did you. April Kepner  _looks_  super nice. And innocent. Which means you can send her places you can't send a scruffy boy like Karev. Everyone has their place in our demented little organization, Calliope." She set the thick stack of account ledgers and financial printouts on the end table. "Now, since you'll be out all of tomorrow breaking kneecaps while I trudge through yet another gig's worth of spreadsheets, come here," Arizona purred, standing up to drag her girlfriend to the bedroom. With a delighted grin, Callie followed.

X-X

The morning meeting was a necessary evil, as far as Callie Torres was concerned. In the office space of a nondescript warehouse near the main port, the base of operations for the Grey organization was distinctly simple. Meredith had eschewed the style of her mother – overbearing, fancy, expensive – and preferred to use the money such things had cost to care for her people. Callie was fairly sure that her boss was the only crime lord in the greater Northwest that offered dental to her employees. Meredith, in worn jeans and a sweater, settled in at the head of the table, her best friend and right hand Cristina by her side, both sucking down steaming cups of coffee. Arizona was still shuffling the papers in front of her while Callie absent-mindedly scrolled through the business section of the paper on her iPad. Also in attendance was Richard Webber, Ellis Grey's long-time right hand and still a valuable member of their team, though on partial retirement as his wife was ill.

"Okay, so, what's going on with Jacobs' Shipping? Arizona?" Meredith started out.

"They're hiding something. The numbers don't match, there are large gaps in their records they've tried to disguise, and honestly, I get a really bad feeling about it. I want Alex to go with Calliope this morning, in addition to Kepner. I've already briefed him on the gaps I found; he should be able to pick up the situation easily. I'd go, but…"

"We all know you're not the physical intimidation type," Cristina snarked. Her frenemy relationship with the newest member of their inner sanctum was well-accepted amongst the group.

Meredith nodded, turning to Cristina, "Can we keep some extra people nearby? People they won't recognize, in case Callie needs backup? I don't want to send them into a hostile place alone."

Cristina flipped through the schedule, rearranging things mentally. "Sure, easy. I'll send a few out in a van and park it nearby. We'll pull some of the on-call folks in to cover."

"Anything else?" Meredith scanned the table - the mature, thoughtful face at odds with the dark, twisty, angry girl Callie recalled from when the younger woman first took up the reins of her mother's business.

Richard coughed lightly. "Some of my contacts, they're being approached by the Averys. They want in to Seattle, Meredith. We might have to hire some more bodies just to keep our businesses safe from their thugs. What I'm hearing? It's not good. The kid they put in charge of business here - Jackson Avery? He doesn't have a clue what he's doing. He thinks waving a gun around and demanding some money is all there is to this." Richard shook his head, "I don't know what his family was thinking. He'll bring too much attention to  _everyone_ , mark my words."

Meredith sighed, glancing down at the table. "Well, keep notes of who's calling. Maybe we can figure out his plan from that. Reassure people that we're who they want to be dealing with, not him. I don't want to resort to… direct pressure on him… at least not yet." She looked down the table, meeting Callie's eyes. "Be careful today. Jacobs has always been a slime."

Callie nodded, "We will."

As a group, they stood up, gathering their possessions and heading out for the day ahead. Callie tugged her girlfriend to a stop as the room emptied. "Long day ahead? Will you be home for supper?" She pulled Arizona into her arms, the smaller woman curling into her embrace.

"I hope so. There's just a lot of paperwork. Consolidating accounts and things," Arizona sighed. "I hate tax season."

"Said everyone, ever." Callie pulled back to press a kiss to her partner's brow. "Whoever gets home first gets to decide where to order from? I don't think I'll feel like cooking."

Arizona smiled. "Sure, sounds good." She looked Callie in the eyes. "Seriously, be careful. Something's off there, and I don't want you caught unawares."

"You got it. I mean, look what I have to come home to," she grinned as Arizona blushed. With a final tender kiss, Callie grabbed her iPad from the table and winked as she headed out the door.

X-X

Dressed in classy black pants, a deep purple silk shirt, and her favorite black leather jacket, Callie Torres looked like an edgy business woman. Maybe a survivor from the dotcom boom or some hip post-bust telecomm company.

Her two colleagues flanked her, eyes wide and alert at Jacobs' Shipping. Alex Karev, with his week-old stubble, jeans, oxford shirt, and denim jacket, looked like an overgrown college kid, but his eyes were cunning – that rare mix of brains and brawn that Arizona had picked up on and nurtured since he was her muscle at her bookmaking operation. He fingered the brass knuckles in his pocket even as he absorbed the comings and goings around him. April Kepner looked like a young corporate executive next to him, in wool slacks, a white blouse, and a dark blazer with a leather briefcase over her shoulder. Though the briefcase did have a laptop and tablet, it also had Kepner's favorite fighting knives, a set of handcuffs, duct tape, zip ties, and a ball gag. The three of them together were a sight to behold, especially if one knew who they were – the last resort of Meredith Grey when she was unhappy with a client, customer, or associate. All three together were a warning that could not be ignored in Seattle.

Ben Jacobs, the owner and operator of Jacobs' Shipping, as well as the man deeply in debt to Meredith, approached them, his body subtly shaking. Sweat beaded on his brow, something all three took note of. "Miz Torres, how can I help you?" he stuttered.

Raising one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the pathetic man before her, Callie replied, "Well, Ben… Can I call you Ben?" At his nod, she continued, "It seems our organization has found some… irregularities in your financial reports. Upon which we base your repayment schedule. We're here to… clear up that little misunderstanding. If that's all right with you, of course."

"Of course, of course, Miz Torres. Whatever you need." He gestured them ahead, "Why don't you use my office? It's right over here."

"That would be good, Ben," she drawled, motioning her subordinates to join her. "You can just go about your work. We'll stay out of the way. No need to worry."

The sweat really started to drip down his face at the prospect of leaving the trio alone in his office. "Sure, sure. I'll, er, be out on the floor if you need me."

Callie shut the door behind the offensive man, and turned to her colleagues. "Karev, break into their database, copy everything. Arizona was right - something's off here. Kepner, stay with me, we're having a look around." She fished in the hidden pocket of her jacket and pulled out the collapsible police baton that was her favorite weapon in a situation like this. With a quick check of her shoulder holster, she looked at her protégé, who had settled the briefcase next to Alex while sliding zip ties in her pockets. Callie knew that there were at least three knives on the woman's body, hidden in various holsters and tucked in pockets. One switchblade found its way into her hand, which she palmed carefully.

"Alright, boss," April chirped. "Alex, turn on your comm set," she scolded until he grumped and turned on the hidden earpiece that let the three of them talk while separated on a job.

They let Alex lock himself in the office, and heard him move something in front of the door before heading off, slinking from the offices towards the loading docks.

"Callie, what exactly are we looking for?" April asked quietly.

"Not sure, but whatever it is," Callie felt her senses tingle, "I don't think it's any good. This place is giving me the creeps. Let's check the trucks."

The pair moved silently, their thick boots not making a sound on the concrete floors. Most of the trucks were concentrated in the first handful of docks, a half dozen trucks in the middle of loading or unloading in each. Glances at the posted manifests matched the information Callie had pulled up on her phone. They moved deeper into the building, and the tone of the work changed. The employees seemed rougher, cruder, and the trucks weren't as well-kept – covered in graffiti and the motors not running as smoothly. The two well-dressed women were even more out of place, and stayed in the shadows. Callie grabbed a clipboard that purported to keep track of what the bay was doing during the workday. She didn't recognize any of the vendors, loads, or truck numbers that Arizona had made her memorize that morning. As far as she could tell, the entire truck was off the record – even the records that should have been copied to Meredith's bookkeepers as part of their deal.

She switched her phone over to the camera app, and took pictures of each page on the clipboard, April carefully keeping watch as the workers had just left for the lunch hour. She emailed the photos directly to her girlfriend, and CC'd them to Cristina. In the empty, echoing loading dock, there was silence except for the quiet click of Callie's camera app as they moved to the next clipboard and then the next.

Until the most out of place sound carried from the furthest truck. A baby's cry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I haven't really read any underworld crime fiction in ages but I watch a lot of NCIS…

**Chapter TWO**

"Mierda," Callie breathed. She met April's horrified eyes. "Call everyone. I want  _everyone_  who can hold a gun down here pronto. And I want every doctor who owes us something ready for whatever the fuck is going on." April nodded, already dialing headquarters and speaking urgently to whomever had answered even as they could hear Alex calling from the office to Meredith directly. Together, the two bolted down the loading dock towards the source of the sound. They found the last truck secured with a length of heavy chain and an oversized ultra secure style of lock. She motioned to April, whose skills at lock-picking were far beyond her own while she went to the clipboard. The company names chilled her – they were all subsidiaries of the Avery family, mostly the ones she knew ran drugs or human trafficking under a thin veneer of regular cargo transport. Jacobs' was working both of them, and that was unacceptable. Especially as Meredith had a strict no drugs, no people policy for anyone that did business with her, a stance that Callie, raised in a Miami family which did a lot of drug running, could completely appreciate and support.

They could hear the baby crying still, and the quieter sounds of shuffling, random human movement and someone trying to soothe the child. Then a second baby joined the chorus. April redoubled her work picking the rusty lock.

By the time April had finished, the first of their backup had arrived with Alex in tow, the briefcase full of copied data and April's weapons slung over his shoulder, his gun in hand. With a dozen of her colleagues around her, she let a handful stand guard, the rest ready to help whoever was in the truck. With a groan, the truck's gate moved up, and revealed to the waiting crew the mass of humanity crammed into a 8 by 28 foot space.

The first thing they noticed was the smell. Unwashed humanity crammed for who knew how long in the truck body – urine, feces, blood. Then the soft cries of fear as the blinded denizens of the truck made out the armed people in front of them.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay," Callie said. "We're here to help." She gestured to the dock. "You guys come out, we'll take care of you." A buzz of words came from the truck, some of it in Spanish, so Callie repeated herself in her native tongue. She waved a couple of her women forward – tough Bailey with teary eyes and imposing Teddy, her mouth set in a thin line of anger – to help the occupants step out.

Within minutes, the truck was empty of live people, Bailey and Teddy carrying the two babies onboard. In the far back, next to the bucket the occupants had had to use as a toilet, was the corpse of a woman, the placenta and other fluids associated with childbirth soaked into the truck bed under her. The younger baby was obviously a newborn, and the mother had died in the process of giving birth. They'd noticed the baby had a hair tie clamping off the umbilical cord. Her eyes full of fury, Callie left the cleanup to a handful of people who had just arrived in coveralls with face masks. "Deal with this. Treat her with respect," she ordered before stalking off.

Even more of Meredith's enforcers were holding the staff of the shipping company, as the majority of the group Callie led moved quickly out to the waiting minivans that would bring them back to headquarters. April stopped at the team leader, handing him every zip tie she had in her bag. "Secure them," she growled.

"Did we not have any child seats?" Bailey grumbled as she headed towards a waiting van. "I could have fetched Tuck's old one from my place if we'd known ahead of time there were  _babies_  in that damn thing." She passed the small, squalling infant to Callie while she climbed into her seat and buckled in, before accepting the baby back.

"Sorry, Bailey, this whole morning has  _not_ gone as planned," Callie grumbled, even as she gently rocked the baby in her arms, a smile edging onto her lips. "I did call Addie and she'll meet you there to look over the babies and the kids." Addison Montgomery was a neonatal surgeon and ob/gyn who had met Callie while they both attended college – Addie as a premed and Callie as a business major. Their friendship had survived and even flourished despite Callie's less than savory profession.

"Good. Want me to take over looking after the people? I'm sure you have other things you could be… dealing with," Bailey asked.

Callie nodded, "Sure. I'm going to have to brief Meredith and bring all the data to Arizona to decode, depending on what Alex has already figured out." She shook her head, "I'll call ahead, send someone out to WalMart for blankets and clothes and stuff. These folks have nothing."

"Good. See you later, Torres," Bailey said, as Callie shut the van door, nodding to the driver to take them back to headquarters.

Flipping her cell phone open, she dialed her girlfriend, "Hey babe."

" _Hey. I heard things went to hell,"_ came a gentle voice.

"That's putting it lightly. Kids. Babies. Adults. Send Gloria out to WalMart. They'll need clean clothes, blankets, towels, soap, you know. We gotta clean them up, help them out." She growled. "Dammit, I hate this shit. Whoever these people are, they deserve a helluva lot better than shoved in a trailer destined for whatever crap the Averys are trying to pull in our town."

" _They do, Calliope. And we'll help them out."_  Callie could hear the murmur of her girlfriend speaking with someone over the phone,  _"Gloria's on her way. I'm sending Matt to another WalMart so it won't look so, errr. Odd? I guess? Nothing strange about someone going out for a towel and soap run, or a lot of sweatsuits, but together? Little strange."_

Callie laughed, "Yeah, you're right. And sweatsuits are perfect. Got some food for them? They all looked hungry."

" _As soon as I get off the phone with you, I'll head over to Costco,"_  Arizona promised.  _"And remember your temper. We need people who can talk to explain what the heck is going on."_

"I'm not going to even touch it today. Those people are our priority. We can sit on Jacobs and his scum till tomorrow," Callie replied.

" _Good. Drive safely, Calliope. I'll see you soon."_

"I will. Love you," Callie murmured.

" _Love you too."_

With a smile, Callie closed her phone, and moved over to her car. The Audi was brand new, and her current pride and joy. April was in the front passenger seat, on the phone directing their people. Alex was hunched over the laptop in the back seat, poring over what he'd taken from the office. Sighing, Callie buckled up and started the car, unobtrusively following the vans full of rescued people back to headquarters. It was going to be a long, hard day, and, she checked the clock, it was barely eleven in the morning.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm making this shit up as I go. Woo! It's actually kind of fun! And I'm not doing my normal mildly-obsessive background research, so take everything with a grain of salt!

 

**Chapter THREE**

Four hours later, the people saved from Jacobs' Shipping were starting to relax despite their confusion. Between Addie looking over the kids and babies, and her friend Amelia Shepherd taking care of the adults, all of them had been checked – some were put on IVs of fluids, others given drugs to deal with whatever ailments they had picked up – and all had been given the opportunity to use the staff showers to clean up. Dressed in mismatched sweatpants and sweatshirts, they were sprawled over several couches, chairs, and floorspace in the breakroom area. Bailey had run home and brought back a collapsible crib for the two babies – when they weren't being tended by her, Addie, or any of the other staff who came in to help.

The breakroom was a large, open space, designed for all-staff meetings and lunch hours. As a mark of how Meredith valued her staff, the couches were new, comfortable, and oversized. There were bunk beds secured against one wall, and a large-screen TV not far from the small kitchenette, which was receiving hard use from the various foodstuffs Arizona had brought back. Normally stocked with simply tea, coffee, and juice, it was now full of canned soups, rice cooking, and various breads. Frozen pizzas had been cooked, and bottles warmed for the babies in pots Arizona had bought that day. The rescued didn't ask questions, merely followed the directions and answered questions. Their conversations between each other were stilted, in a mix of languages – though mostly Spanish and English.

Callie, Arizona, Meredith, and Cristina were huddled outside the door, looking through the windows at the huddled mass of people they were now responsible for.

"Any explanations of where they came from, and why they were there? Kidnapping? Paying debts?" Meredith asked quietly.

"Everyone we could talk to – so everyone but two speaking a dialect of something we don't understand – were kidnapped. Most had been in various trucks for weeks. We had to give them the date to find out how long they'd been captured for," Callie replied.

"Any idea what that language is? At all?" Cristina questioned.

Callie shook her head, "No one understands it. Bailey thinks it might be Cambodian, but we don't have anyone who speaks it here."

Arizona pursed her lips, "There's a convenience store downtown we do business with whose original owners are Cambodian immigrants. Nice folks. The kids just took over when their parents retired, but I think they're fluent."

"Get them down here, then. Say we need some help," Meredith ordered. "We'll compensate them for their time." Arizona nodded, stepping away to pull up the contact from her address book and call. "What about the parents of the babies?" Her mouth set in a thin line, Meredith radiated anger on the babies' behalf.

Callie crossed her arms. "The mother of the newborn died, as you know. I've arranged a burial for her – she's not even out of rigor yet. The others who helped her through childbirth said she only gave a first name, Teresa, and that she was from some tiny place in Mexico. I googled it, it's not even on the internet, so that's a fucking dead end. She'd been an illegal doing domestic work in Texas when she was taken. The other baby is about a week old, and her mother went into shock or something – it's not like anyone in there could even see what was going on, let alone help. Avery's people chucked the mother's body out when they hosed them down at a stop after she died and threw some formula in for the baby, which is the only reason she's still alive. No one knew her name at all, or where she was from. So we've got two baby girls, mothers dead, fathers unknown, from god knows where, and no paperwork. Addie says she can make birth certificates for us, but we have to have somewhere for them to go. Either put them into the system with invented identities or find them a family. Both are too old to fall under the Safe Haven laws."

"Putting them in the systems means there's something to trace, to follow, to bring this whole thing to the attention of the government. No. We'll find them families. Until then…" Meredith shook her head. "We'll keep them here for now. There's always someone around, and they'll be protected. What about the kids and the adults?"

"We've got names and addresses for most of them. There's one kid who's pretty young, he's too traumatized to talk, but I've got Gloria scouring the net for abduction reports that match his description. As long as they don't talk about what happened, we can just provide them with tickets home and some money. Fake the kidnappers letting them go if we have to. Depends on the situation, the media coverage, police involvement," Cristina replied, showing her best friend a spreadsheet of the names, addresses, and other information they'd gleaned from the kidnapping victims.

"Do it. Whatever you need to get them home safely with as little focus on us as possible," Meredith decided. "Has anyone explained what's going on to them?"

"Not yet. We've worried more about getting a doctor to look at them, food, clothing, that sort of thing," Callie admitted. "I'll translate for the Spanish speakers if you want to do it now," she offered.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any," Meredith squared her shoulders. The slight, kind-looking woman disappeared under the hard visage of the leader of the Grey empire.

X-X

By the time night fell over Seattle, teams had been dispatched with most of the rescued people to their hometowns, where they'd be "released" and give a story about panicking kidnappers or some such. A few would stay with them longer, while slightly better plans were put into place. The two Cambodian speakers had agreed to the overarching plan as well, once their communication issues had been sorted out.

Which means that only one small child and the two babies were going to be with them much longer. The boy had finally given his name, and Gloria had found his picture online at about the same time. In the morning, he'd be driven down to Tacoma and dropped off at the best hospital there, hopefully to be reunited with his family as soon as possible.

Callie ducked her head into the breakroom. Bailey and Arizona were feeding the two infants their bottles. She closed the door behind her, exchanging tentative smiles with the handful of people left in the room, before settling in the chair next to her girlfriend. Arizona looked up, a small smile gracing her features as she took in the exhausted face of her lover.

"Long day?" she inquired.

Callie glared half-heartedly, "You know it. How are you here," she waved at the baby in Arizona's arms, "and not deconstructing financials with Karev?"

"Well, he needed a break before his eyes crossed permanently, and when I came in here to grab something to eat, I got distracted," the blonde colored.

"And what an adorable distraction," Callie grinned, letting the baby wrap a tiny hand around one large finger.

"A distraction I don't have any more time for today, Torres. I gotta head home to my kid. You willing to help?" Bailey cut in.

"Um, sure, Bailey. Whatever you need," Callie replied, letting the shorter woman hand her infant over.

"She's been fed, now she needs a burping, and then probably a change. I will see you two," Bailey pointed at them both, "tomorrow. Try not to drop them."

Callie settled into Bailey's empty chair and patted the baby's back lightly. The infant curled into her shoulder, and she found herself utterly charmed. The baby in her arms was Teresa's, and she let the baby dribble down her back as she burped. Her girlfriend just laughed from where she was letting her charge finish the bottle.

Meredith walked up to them just as a particularly large burp of warm formula made its way into Callie's shirt. The younger woman laughed, before swooping the other baby from Arizona's arms. "And how are you, sweetheart?" she cooed.

Callie raised her eyebrow. Maternal, soppy Meredith was a new dimension to her employer, one that she had not quite expected despite the common knowledge that Meredith and her long-term boyfriend, Derek, had been trying to have a baby for years. The baby in Meredith's arms settled in quickly as she burped, before stretching and then closing her eyes.

"So, I don't know if I really like keeping the babies here," Meredith started. "This isn't exactly… homey. And since they're kind of part of the Grey family, we really should offer them more than the breakroom."

Arizona studied her boss carefully. She gestured at the baby in Meredith's arms. "You're decided to take her in, haven't you?"

Meredith blushed lightly. "Well, yes. We can't take both of them, but this little girl, she's just… she's amazing."

Callie bristled a little at the implication that the child in  _her_ arms wasn't amazing, "Well so's this little one," she stated.

"Of course she is," Meredith nodded, "but this little one was screaming her head off this afternoon and she quieted right down when I took her," Meredith avoided the fact that her employees had been passing the wailing baby around unsuccessfully trying to soothe her for ten minutes before she stepped in and the girl quieted, "It was…" The younger woman gave a wide, uncommon smile. "It was like fate. Or something. I'm sure we'll find a good home for Teresa's girl, too." She grinned as the little girl started to lightly snore on Callie's shoulder.

"We better," Callie muttered. "And how exactly are you going to explain that baby? You and Derek are the most pasty-white people I've ever met, and that beautiful girl certainly is not."

Meredith laughed, "Along with the lovely birth certificate your friend Addison is going to make for us, there will be the paperwork for a super-private, sealed adoption. I know someone who knows someone who can get that done for us. And for whoever takes that little one," she gestured Teresa's daughter. "We don't want a blood test later on to throw her origin into doubt. For example, if you took her, she looks enough like she could be your kid, but ten years down the road when there's some medical test that calls her parentage into doubt? No. We'll play it safe. Adoption is a better explanation."

Arizona nodded, "Good idea. Honest, but not too honest until they're old enough to understand."

"Exactly. Look, I'm staying here tonight, and I've got Mousey to help. Why don't you two go home?" Meredith said, waving over her new personal assistant, a shy woman named Brooks that Cristina had promptly dubbed Mousey. Unfortunately the appellation had stuck, and most of the people who'd met her in the Grey organization knew her only by Mousey.

The two women's eyes met, and Arizona nodded to her girlfriend. It had been a very long day. "Sure. You got everything you need? Should we pick up anything on our way in tomorrow?" Callie asked as she gently transferred the baby to Mousey's arms.

"I think we have what we need, but I'll text you if I think of anything. Just… bring in a lot of coffee? I think we're going to need it," Meredith replied.

"I'm going to need it," Arizona groaned. "I hate tax season and with this all on top of it? I'm going to have to hide a lot of unexplained expenses."

"Sorry, Arizona," Meredith laughed. "At least it's for a good reason."

Arizona smiled at the two babies snuggling into their caregivers' embraces. "Yeah, it is."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: These versions of our favorite characters have serious potty-mouth issues. Plus, Arizona's kind of conflicted this chapter.

**Chapter FOUR**

As soon as they got home, Arizona stalked into their bedroom. Tension radiated from her shoulders, and Callie sighed. She placed the call to order food, and then opened a bottle of wine, letting it breathe on the counter as she followed her girlfriend.

Arizona had rid herself of her prosthetic and sat on the bed rubbing her residual limb when Callie entered the room. She hung her head for a moment, and then met her girlfriend's eyes. "You want to adopt that baby, don't you?" she questioned, voice shaking. Callie could only nod. She did. Something about that little girl tugged at her heart like nothing else. And what was more, she knew Arizona felt the same. Could tell it by the look on her face when she caught sight of Callie holding the baby. "And what exactly can we offer a baby, Calliope? Anything happens to us, there's nowhere for her to go to, and god knows our business isn't exactly safe." She grabbed her wheelchair and maneuvered herself into it. Pushing herself into the living room, she pointed to the coffee table. It was covered with disassembled handguns that Callie was in the middle of cleaning. "Is this the life you want to bring a  _baby_  into? A beautiful, sweet, helpless baby?"

Callie shook her head, "You're forgetting something. Yeah, our lives are dangerous. Things can suck. But kids need love, and time, and support. You think anyone could do better than us?"

Arizona closed her eyes, "No, I don't. But, Calliope, you couldn't even get into my hospital room when this," she gestured to her missing leg, "happened. Some bigot in bum-fuck Idaho decided you didn't count as my family and I had to raise holy hell once I woke up to get you by my side – a place that should have been yours by right. And we might not have been domestic partners, or wives, even here, but you and I carried every piece of paper that said you were my next of kin and power of attorney, and they still disregarded that in favor of the assholes who spawned me." She met Callie's eyes, rage still underneath everything when thinking about that time in their lives, "And you think it's gonna be easier with a kid? I like that little girl. I could love her so so easily. Maybe I already do. But how much can we protect her from that kind of hate?"

Callie settled into a chair facing her girlfriend, "We can't. But let me tell you something, sweetheart, that kind of hate? Irrational, unyielding, cruel hate based on something no one can control? She's gonna face it already just because of the color of her skin. I know I have. Her mother probably faced it every day scrubbing toilets for slave wages in some suburban  _Desperate Housewives_  hell when she came here searching for a better life. We can't do shit for that woman except avenge her death and take care of her baby."

Hanging her head, Arizona breathed deeply. "I know. And I know full well you probably got her a full funeral Mass from O'Malley."

Her girlfriend laughed, "Yeah, I did. What's the point of our boss basically funding an entire parish if you can't get a quiet burial out of it once in awhile? George owes me, and he knows it. He'd do a funeral Mass for Adolf Hitler if I told him to."

Arizona laughed. It was true. Callie's ex boyfriend turned parish priest did owe her everything – from presiding over his own parish to still having his kneecaps after he cheated on her. Sobering, she asked softly, "And how many Masses are going to be said for Teresa and the other baby's mother?"

Callie stared at her hands, "One a week for the next year. Even if it wasn't their faith, and who knows what was, really, they still should have someone praying for them."

"So the congregation of St Dismas will," Arizona confirmed softly. "I will."

With a watery smile of gratitude, Callie started, "Look, we have each other, and we  _could_  have a beautiful baby. We've got some money saved up. You don't want to parent a child here, with our jobs? Fine. We can go to Chicago, or New York. We can build a house or start a business. You could do people's taxes and I could teach rock-climbing at a gym. Whatever you want. You know Meredith would understand."

"She would," Arizona nodded, "but this is our home, Calliope." She took a deep breath, "Our friends, our family because really, neither of us have anyone else. We could strike out on our own, sure. But why leave when we have everyone we love here?"

"Because those kids we talked about years ago? I think I want them," Callie murmured, refusing to meet her girlfriend's eyes. "And maybe you're right, that this isn't a home for a child," she waved her hand, gesturing at the dark concrete walls and weapons lying around.

Arizona paused, searching her heart and mind. "A home for a child is one that has love in it. And a bed, and some toys and books and good food. We can paint the walls, take a trip to Babies R Us, get you an even better gun safe. We could move somewhere else, somewhere that isn't a single floor above a bar." She laughed softly to herself – when they'd first moved in together, they'd been on the fifth floor, but after the car accident that took her leg, they'd moved down to a more accessible level for her, one that didn't involve needing the oft-broken elevator. "I held both of those babies today, Calliope. And I wanted to bring her home too. Just her."

"We'd talked about adoption," Callie breathed, hope starting to fill her heart. They had dismissed having Callie carry a child due to her work, and Arizona had had an emergency hysterectomy as a result of the car crash.

"We did. And this… this isn't a traditional adoption. By any means. Maybe Teresa intended to raise her, or maybe she would have given that girl up for whatever reason. We don't know. But she's not here, so we have to do what is best for that baby. Best for us."

"The baby you have is the baby you were destined to have. It was meant to be. That's what all the adoption people say, anyway," Callie mused, recalling something from their research into the process.

"Well that's just a shit implication for the kids in foster care, isn't it," Arizona muttered. "But yes. Things could have been so worse for that little girl. Addie says she's in pretty much perfect health, and was probably only a little early."

A wide grin was Callie's first response. "Are we gonna have a baby?"

Arizona smiled back, dimples popping, "We're having a baby." She took stock of the room around them. "Though, first order of business, you put those guns back together. And then lock them up. There's gonna be a baby here tomorrow night, and no weapons allowed on the coffee table any more." The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of their dinner. Arizona rolled over to the door, grabbing her purse on the way. "So get to it, mami!"

Laughing, Callie started to reassemble her guns and lock them away, making room not only for the order of Chinese at the door, but for the baby in need of a new family.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N2: Baby/mafia AU crackfic. Look at what I'm doing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Think of this fic as being in the thematic vein of Xena – "One week they're melodrama, the next week they're Three Stooges. And they're way too serialized!" Violent crime drama, baby/family humor, and some romance thrown into a blender, basically.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Ben Jacobs was uncomfortable. It could have been that he'd been thrown in a locked, windowless, airless room for over two days. It could have been the indignity of having to use a bucket chained to a wall in place of a toilet. It could have been that he'd been grabbed, blindfolded, gagged, and then tied to a chair for an indeterminate length of time using a combination of duct tape and zip ties.

With a yank, the blindfold was off and he squinted into the bright light of a lamp trained on his face. He could see a large tarp on the floor under his feet, and a handful of human shapes outside the light.

"Did you not… understand our contract, Mister Jacobs?" came a soft, steely voice.

He shook his head.

"Then did you not get that going behind my back and getting into the body business with Avery would perhaps make me unhappy?" A slight woman's figure stepped into view. Meredith Grey was perturbed.

"Oh, I think he knew exactly what he was doing. Double-timing you, boss," piped up a higher-pitched voice. From behind, he could feel something sharp running gently down the back of his neck.

"I think you're right, April," Meredith nodded.

A taller form came up to Meredith's side. Ben gulped. Callie Torres looked  _pissed_. "Two dead women, babies born in a truck, people –  _children_  - kidnapped from five different states. In a warehouse loading dock that  _everyone_  in Seattle knows works for Meredith Grey. Worked, I should say." She tapped a baseball bat against the side of her boot. "Unfortunate, really, how the whole place fucking burned to the ground last night. Too bad, so sad. The fire alarms never sounded. Total loss."

Ben whimpered.

"And you couldn't even bother to inform your regular employees, Mister Jacobs. They were  _very_  confused as to why we are… displeased. Not to worry. The ones who were ignorant have found new jobs. With Hubbard Packing, whom I believe you tried to buy out last year.  _They_  know how to uphold a contract. Too bad about the new people you hired just for those  _special_ shipments. I don't know when their corpses'll be found." Meredith grinned, her lips curling over her teeth – a terrifying sight that loosened Ben's control of his bladder. A thin line of piss traveled down his leg onto the tarp below his feet. "You know, not all my businesses are, shall we say, perfectly legal. Some might even call me a criminal." She buffed the nails of one hand against her shirt. "But I'm not  _scum_ , Mister Jacobs. Not like you. Not like the flesh-peddlers you decided to double-cross me for."

"And you know what we do with scum, don't you, Ben?" Callie purred. "We skim it off the top, and we throw it away. Leaves the rest of us decent types without the stink of your kind in the pot."

"First, though," April said from behind him, knife playing against his shoulder, poking holes in his sweat-soaked shirt but not quite breaking his skin, "we could use some information. You want to help us with that, don't you? I think you do."

Before the screaming began, the last thing Ben Jacobs remembered seeing was Callie Torres approaching him with her baseball bat. She swung, and everything became pain.

X-X

Lunch during a regular day for Callie generally meant grabbing the leftovers from the previous night out of the breakroom fridge, using the microwave, and then tracking down her girlfriend for some food, snuggling, and possibly a quickie in Arizona's office – since her partner often forgot to either bring food, or eat it.

Lunch after a morning extracting information and beating the shit out of Ben Jacobs was instead spent in the breakroom, gulping down her reheated leftovers while Arizona fed the baby they'd be taking home that night. Bottle and half the leftovers consumed, she took over for burping duty and handed over the rest of the food to Arizona.

Meredith walked in, baby in one arm and cell in the other. "Okay, we have a meeting at two," she said, "Teddy's putting together the intel we have for Avery's moves into town. And then Addie is going to come set up birth certificates for these girls afterward. So we'll need a name for yours. Oh, and then you get the rest of the day off, plus tomorrow to settle in. I'm taking it too, I sent Derek to get a crib today but there's all that other stuff involved in baby care that I know we don't have." She looked up at her employee's gobsmacked expressions. "Oh, and Bailey dropped off Tuck's old car seat for you to borrow. She wants it back, though, by the end of the week. She's babysitting for her sister's kids this weekend. That gives you three days to get your own." She grinned and added, "I picked up one last night."

The two women shared a long glance. Things were moving fast for them, but it was more a matter of desperately mentally rearranging schedules than panic at the thought of expanding their family with a few pieces of (mostly forged) paper.

"Okay, I need to put Alex on the hotel financials, and I'm halfway through the cleaned-up taxes for Joe's. He can do that easy enough, but I'll double check it of course," Arizona said. "I know you've got him deconstructing Jacobs' stuff right now, but those two have higher priority deadlines."

"No problem. I'll have Mousey start on some of the Jacobs' investigation Cristina was doing, and shift more of the load of that paperwork onto her," Meredith nodded.

"Can Mousey even do forensic accounting?" Callie asked with disbelief.

"It was my minor. Regular accounting was my major," said a hesitant voice from the doorway.

"First in her class, too. She's been doing some good work already. Projects I thought she should dip her toes into," Cristina offered from where she was eating her hot dog and perusing a paper copy of the Wall Street Journal. "I might almost bother to learn her actual name if that keeps up."

Mousey turned bright red, but a small smile graced her lips.

"Okay, well then, I'll forward what I'm doing to Alex and he can break down what's left to work on," Arizona nodded.

"Sounds fine. Work a little from home if you have the chance, but really, family time is more important," Meredith said.

"I've got a couple operations I was planning to coordinate. But I have to install a new gun safe, apparently, even though newborns can't crawl, so I might pass it off to April if no one minds," Callie added.

"Get Bailey to help her. April doesn't know the street layout enough for what you're doing this afternoon," Cristina said bluntly, familiar with the situation. It was true. April was fairly new to town – only about five years – while Bailey had grown up in the Emerald City. Callie acquiesced with a nod, texting her subordinates with instructions one-handed as the baby drooled into the towel laid over her shoulder.

X-X

"So we already know that Avery's in town. Their primary businesses are loan sharking, human cargo, and drugs – mostly cocaine distribution though they dip into just about anything you can smoke, snort, or inject. There's a shipping company veneer over it all, but their legal stuff is very thin and not diversified at all," Teddy said with scorn. The Grey empire was involved in sports, hotels, bars, dry cleaners, convenience stores, construction companies, all on top of the regular shipping and security work. Many of Meredith's employees didn't even know they were technically part of one of the largest crime organizations in the Northwest. Her legitimate businesses paid for themselves and turned profits regularly.

Teddy pressed a button on her laptop and the Powerpoint slide changed. "This is Jackson Avery, only twenty seven, heir apparent to Catherine Avery. Known for arrogance and a sense of entitlement beyond what he's actually worth. She's either testing him by sending him out here mostly alone, to see if he can make it, or she's just an idiot." She grimaced. "He's a well-known suspect to the cops in Boston in at least five murders. Fucking idiot. They haven't pinned anything on him that'll stick, but it's probably only a matter of time."

"Which means there'll be attention on him. Great," Cristina grumbled.

Teddy nodded and clicked her laptop again, "This is his right-hand man, Mark Sloan. They're called the Plastics Posse because most of the people they go after, if they survive, need a lot, and I mean a lot, of plastic surgery to get back either bodily function or to just not look like escapees from a slasher flick. He actually was a plastic surgeon before he was stripped of his license for repeatedly using sub-par breast implants on his patients. He'd perform a perfect surgery and then the implant would explode inside the body a few months later. Brilliant, angry, skilled."

"Brutal, effective, distinctive," Callie mused, pointing to a few photographs Teddy had displayed of the Plastics Posse's work. "Immature, really. There's causing pain and then there's reveling in it, and that just implies nasty nasty things about their heads."

"The psych profiles from Boston homicide of them as individuals and a pair are pretty chilling," Teddy admitted. "It's in the file." She clicked again, "Owen Hunt. Ex Army. Much saner, very methodical. He's worked for Catherine Avery for years, probably sent as a sort of supervisor, or at least someone who can report back to her what's going on. He's not really leader material, but he's an excellent right hand. Leah Murphy, fairly new to the whole organization, and not terribly good at following the rules, even for someone in our errr line of work. She started as a receptionist at one of the packing plants the Averys own. Stephanie Edwards – most reports put her as Jackson's girlfriend. We aren't exactly sure what she really does."

"It probably involves being flat on her back," Cristina snarked.

Teddy nodded, "Yeah. She's trained as a paralegal, but… yeah. Anyway, those are the people we're sure have made it out here. I'm sure there are more workers and thugs, but these are the ones to watch for, really."

"What have you got on their business contacts? And what have we extracted from the Jacobs' paperwork already?" Meredith asked.

The meeting turned to Arizona's domain of information, "We're still breaking it down, as you know, but so far as we can tell Jacobs was our only associate to be double crossing us."

"He confirmed that – as much as he could. He didn't know of anyone else, at least," Callie admitted to the rest of the room. Meredith had left halfway through the interrogation, and they hadn't gotten much else out of him afterwards.

"Which means there's probably four or five that have at least been approached," Cristina pointed out.

"I've got my contacts listening closely," Richard offered. "There's been a few grumblings, but nothing substantial."

"Well, look at the businesses they're most likely to subvert, and let's do some surprise visits," Meredith said. "I want to start on that by Monday."

X-X

A half hour later found Meredith, Callie, and Arizona in the breakroom, where Mousey and Bailey had been keeping an eye on the babies while doing paperwork. Addison was in the middle of a quick exam when the three women arrived.

"Okay, ladies, I have birth certificates in dire need of names for these little ones. I've made up their parents and Stark did the death certificates last night," she said brightly. Richard Stark was an odious medical examiner who wrote up all the required 'official' paperwork when they had a body to get rid of quietly. "I believe Meredith's contact at Family Court will have the adoption paperwork within a few weeks?" She nodded in confirmation and Addison beamed.

Meredith was the first to pick up her child and speak softly with Addie.

"Alright, Meredith, you let me know how things go, and call me if you need anything. And you too, Miss Grace!" Addison said a few minutes later.

Grinning at her old friend, the doctor moved over to where Callie and Arizona were cuddled up with the baby on a couch. "Okay you two, got a name? I know most parents have a few months at least to figure this out, but you're bright ladies, I'm sure something's been knocking around those minds of yours."

Callie and Arizona exchanged gentle looks. "Nadia Teresa," Callie said softly.

Addison grinned. "Beautiful. You decided on a last name?"

Arizona smiled widely, "Robbins. Callie's changing her name when we get married." A happy squeal was the reply to that revelation.

"Don't get all excited, Addie," Callie remonstrated. "It's just gonna be a civil thing. Tiny. No party."

Pouting was an unusual look on a grown woman. "But, Callie!"

"No. No," Callie shook a finger at her friend. "Nothing. You can be a witness. Maybe buy us a drink afterwards. But that's it. We filed for the license before we came in this morning and we'll do the ceremony on Saturday. I'd make George do it, but, eh, even he can't bend the Catholic church that much. I have a justice of the peace who owes me a favor. We're only doing it for the legal protection anyway."

Arizona nodded at the baby in her arms, "Hear that, little one? Your mommies will be married, but still won't get the thousand rights the feds owe them!"

"Someone's bitter and decidedly unromantic," Addie coughed.

Arizona shrugged, meeting their friend's eyes, "Well, my awesome brother died serving this country and I still won't be able to file a joint tax return with Calliope next year, so yeah, I am a little bitter."

"Arizona won the 'whose last name will we use' contest because she actually had a relative with redeeming value," Callie said softly, both joking and totally serious.

"True!" Arizona laughed. "You're gonna be a Robbins, Nadia!"

X-X

"How the hell are we supposed to choose from all of this?" hissed Arizona as she bounced Nadia in her arms. The Babies R Us at the nearest mall was a little overwhelming. "We need fucking everything, and we need it now."

"Stop swearing in front of our kid," Callie hissed right back. "It's not that hard. Diapers, formula, bottles, clothes – lots of clothes, wipes, baby shampoo, blankets, a car seat, somewhere for her to sleep, a frigging teddy bear. That'll do for tonight. We can come back in the morning for a stroller and actual furniture."

"Tomorrow, perfect. Stop one: Babies R Us, stop two: the gun store for a new safe. We are classy, classy moms, Calliope," Arizona remarked. "Grab a cart!"

An hour later they were at the checkout with an overflowing cart and a cranky baby. They'd found a travel cradle, a threepack of onesies, diapers, formula, bottles, blankets, a car seat, wipes, and shampoo in short order – grabbing just enough to get them through the next day given that they had two onesies amongst a handful of diapers, wipes, and a single bottle in the bag Bailey had assembled for them before leaving headquarters. Checkout didn't take long and before they knew it, they were driving homeward, the car trunk full of baby supplies.

"Wash the blankets and clothes before we use them?" Callie asked hesitantly, pulling into their parking spot.

Arizona huffed, "Not everyone wears their underwear straight out of the package." Callie raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. "That would be a yes, dear." As she unbuckled her seatbelt, Arizona turned to look at her soon-to-be-wife. "Let's get the bags in first. I think someone needs a change, anyway," she glanced fondly into the carseat secured behind them, "And then we can worry about figuring out that travel cradle."

Having heard mention of her diaper getting a change, Nadia started to murmur to herself. Her new mothers met each other's eyes and grinned. They grabbed their work bags and purse, then jumped out of the car to comfort their baby.

"I got her," Callie said, shooing Arizona towards the trunk. "Get what you can, but make sure the diapers are in there!"

Two heavily laden women made their way to their apartment door, letting themselves in as Nadia fussed in Callie's arms. Stepping inside, they looked at the open living area with fresh eyes. There were still two partially-assembled guns on the coffee table, and almost a week's worth of dishes piled in the sink. A few pieces of clothing were scattered on the floor where they'd been tossed in their haste to get to bed a few nights previous.

"Thank god she can't crawl yet," Arizona breathed. "We are so not prepared for this."

It was at that moment that Callie caught a whiff of a very full diaper and Nadia let out a rather ear-piercing scream before starting to cry.


	6. Chapter 6

6/?

Callie needed coffee. A lot of coffee. Between Nadia being up every few hours and the pace of work, she was exhausted. Overjoyed, beyond happy, content in a way she hadn't thought possible – but still desperate for sleep. Stopping at her favorite coffee shop that was halfway between work and home, she stood in line studying the board, on the search for the most caffeine she could fit in a single cup.

"You look like hell, Cal," came a voice from behind her. She spun around, a little wobbly on her uncaffeinated feet, to have to glance up a little into the face of one of Seattle's finest.

"Always the charmer, Erica," she grinned. "That's what having a newborn does to you. Blissful exhaustion."

One blond eyebrow reached towards her service cap. "You can get that from sex, too, and it doesn't involve dirty diapers. But my my, I don't run into you for a few weeks, and you reproduced?"

Callie pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, the wallpaper of which was Arizona giving Nadia a bath in the kitchen sink. The movement also happened to display her shiny new thin gold wedding ring. "Yeah. Nadia. We adopted her soon after she was born."

A sly grin spread across Erica's face, "Married, with a kid. Never thought I'd see a badass like you tied down, Torres."

With a shrug, Callie glanced at the picture on her phone, "They're worth it. So worth it. Besides, it's always something I've wanted. You know that." She looked up at her friend – and ex – noticing the fine lines of stress around pale blue eyes. "What's up with you? Keeping us safe by patrolling the gritty streets of the Emerald City, Officer Hahn?"

Erica snorted, "Ah, yes, the life of a beat cop. It's fantastic. I've gone through three pairs of boots this year already." As they moved forward in line, she lowered her voice, "I'd like to talk to you, actually. Good luck we met up. Do you have a few minutes?"

Callie eyed her friend, "Sure." The barista cleared her throat, "Oh, sorry. Can I get a large peppermint mocha with three shots of expresso?" The girl nodded, ringing up her order. "What do you want, Erica? On me."

"Large dark roast with  _one_ shot of expresso, please," Erica requested of the barista. To Callie she said, "Thanks. And are you looking for heart problems with that much caffeine? Jesus, Cal."

The brunette groaned, "I know, I know, but it's been a long few weeks. I just need to make it to early afternoon – then I can go home and crash."

"If the baby lets you," Erica snarked.

Callie shook her head, "Afternoon's a good time. She likes her nap. But yeah. I'm almost done installing my new gun safe, and even though Arizona's got to go into work when I get home, I should be able to catch a snooze before I have to start dinner."

"Maternity leave?" Erica inquired, accepting her coffee and tossing some change into the tips cup.

Callie nodded, shoving a few small bills as her tip as they left the coffee shop, "Sort of. We're doing a kind of semi-work from home trade off with a bit of leave thrown in. Meredith came up with it, since she's got a baby as well. She wants to spend time with her little Grace, and Derek needs time to actually work at their house." At Erica's raised eyebrow, "He quit Emerald City Intarwebz a few months ago and is doing web design and stuff from home. Didn't I tell you? He remodeled one of their spare bedrooms into an office and holes up there coding things. But he's got a few big projects coming due, so Meredith is working from home right now. She comes in for an hour in the morning, and Cristina goes over after work to catch her up."

Erica laughed, familiar with Cristina's habits, "Probably looking for a free meal, too. Yang can't live off cereal forever."

"She can try, for sure. She's been bringing by work for me or Arizona around lunch. It's a good trade. She doesn't die of scurvy, or whatever you get from eating Froot Loops every meal, and we get to stay home as much as possible."

"You fed the bitch, and now you can't get rid of her," Erica smirked, sipping her coffee.

Callie rolled her eyes, "I will never understand why you can't get along with her. You're both snarky perfectionists with a mean streak."

"Probably because we both  _are_  snarky perfectionists with mean streaks, Cal," was the rejoinder.

"Touché." Callie gave a sloppy salute. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?" They were strolling down the street towards Callie's work, which was smack-dab in the middle of Erica's patrol beat.

"I was one of the responders to the Jacobs' Shipping fire. I don't think I want to know what was up with that, but it fits with the rumors I've heard, and the bulletin the feds sent us," Erica began.

"Yes?" Callie cocked her eyebrow and grinned innocently at her friend.

"That the Averys are trying to move into Seattle. Possibly with some human trafficking and more hardcore drugs than you folks generally allow," Erica replied seriously.

"Erica," Callie sighed. Their friendship – and their past ill-fated romance when both were fairly new to town – depended on a certain amount of feigned ignorance of what Callie did, and what Erica was willing to not notice.

Erica held up her free hand. "Look, I was young and stupid and didn't realize how useful your organization was, how crucial it was to keeping this city from descending into a violence-ridden shithole."

"Yeah, Meredith's fucking Robin Hood and I'm Friar Tuck," Callie snorted. "You don't want to know what I really do, Erica."

"You're not? So it isn't you and Grey that make sure St Dismas has enough money for their soup kitchen? Or their homeless shelter? And that you keep that loser O'Malley in charge so it's a place that's open to everyone, even the drag queens? Grey doesn't make sure the rehab house by the waterfront stays open? C'mon, Cal, I'm not some wet behind the ears kid right out of the academy anymore. Whether it's a legit donation from Grey Enterprises or some cash you drop off in a paper bag,  _I know._ " Erica sipped her coffee, a triumphant smirk on her face.

Callie ran a hand over her face, "Fine. I'll wear a habit next Halloween if it makes you happy. Are you just trying to impress me with your careful observations and stellar intellect? I'm a married woman now."

"You are, and I bet you're even better in the sack." Erica gave a wide, toothy grin. "Shush, I'm not gonna impede on your wedded bliss. You should know that the feds are very interested in this Jackson Avery guy. They've followed him out here, and they're taking over my fucking precinct. It's a pain in my ass, having some dick in a cheap suit telling me how to walk my beat. They've assigned me a  _partner_ , Cal. Some freshfaced shit out of Tacoma. And not just any freshfaced shit, but your boss's half-sister. She changed her name so she's not a Grey, but Lexie Thatcher is in town. You'd probably better let folks know.

With a deep breath, Callie inquired, "So what does she want? Revenge on the besmirching of her good name? Sisterly cuddles?"

"I don't know. Doubt it's violent whatever it is, she's pretty… happy from what I've seen. She just arrived yesterday, and I've got some asshole fed hanging over my shoulder every moment right now. Preston Burke. Could he have a bigger stick up his ass? I don't think so. Thank god he's too lazy to walk or sit in a car following me or he'd be here right now."

"So this is the last patrol you'll do alone?"

"Pretty much. Wanted to get ahold of you. Look," she stopped their walking, digging in her pocket for a slip of paper. "They're probably monitoring all our phones, looking for the dirty ones now. Don't call my cell – not that you ever bother anymore. I bought a burn phone, all with cash, at a 7-11 I know has a broken surveillance camera. Here's the number. If you need me, call. If I need you, I'll call from that number."

"Not gonna stop by to meet my kid?" Callie joked as she accepted the paper, programming the number into her phone under a nickname for her friend.

Erica laughed, "Heartbreaker? Really, Cal, that's what you're calling me? But yeah, I can't risk it. And not from the feds dogging my department. Your girl keeps trying to set me up. I don't want to face another blind date with some woman your wife met at roller derby."

"That was  _one_  time," she sighed. Erica had ranted at her for half an hour after that disaster of a setup. "She just wants you happy. For some strange reason, she likes you."

With a gentle tap of her hip against Callie's, Erica grinned, "She's a woman of taste. Still dunno how I landed you for six months, though. Usually my standards are much higher."

"Than some woman you kept hooking up with in a bar bathroom for a month before you even exchanged names? I didn't know you were still so classy. I've moved up in the world myself," Callie grinned at her friend. "Shall I start cruising Dorothy's on your behalf if I ever want to see you settled down?"

With a shudder, Erica replied, "Ugh, no. I was there two months ago and some punk I locked up for drunk and disorderly tried to get her pound of flesh out of my vagina. No. No more bars for me."

"Ew."

"Exactly. I'd have better luck being set up by your girl, Cal, and that's really not saying much. Anyway, here's where we part. Keep in touch."

"I will. Thank you, Officer Hahn," Callie giggled.

"No, thank  _you_ , Friar Tuck," Erica toasted her friend with her coffee cup before cutting across the road to continue her beat.

X-X

Mid afternoon, Callie quietly opened her apartment door. It had been a week since Nadia came home with them, and since their entire world had been thrown upside down. A week and a day before, she'd had a girlfriend. Now she had a wife, and a daughter.

Both of whom were snoring on the couch. Well, Arizona was snoring, and Nadia was sprawled on her chest mid-nap. Arizona's laptop was open on the coffee table and displaying Excel spreadsheets, the computer tower they had hooked up to their large screen TV meanwhile had an internet browser window open displaying a youtube playlist made up solely of episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. She recognized the username, too. Her wife ( _wife!_  a happy, innocent part of her brain squealed at the thought) had made a playlist of shows for their daughter to watch. Or more likely, listen to consider her eyes probably couldn't focus that far away very well at the moment.

And lying next to the work laptop was the small pile of baby development and parenting books they'd purchased at the Barnes & Noble next to the Babies R Us where a couple of the staff now recognized them on sight after several frantic trips over the past week. Callie felt like she was back in school, reading thick books and trying to best digest the information presented therein. But now the test wasn't a Scantron sheet, but rather the baby in her arms screaming her adorable little head off.

The first full day they'd had their daughter, they'd made a second trip to the Babies R Us for a changing table, crib, and other basic nursery furniture. Then they'd found none of the furniture came assembled. Hauling what they could fit in the car home, and having some delivered the next day, they'd decided on bribery.

For beer and pizza, they could get Alex, April, or Teddy to do just about anything – which had been proven when they'd had to move down five flights of stairs post-car accident and the elevator decided to die that day.

The next night all three of their friends were free, so the misfit trio put together their baby's furniture while they supplied the booze, pizza, and hand tools. The spare room that had been home to just a few boxes and an inflatable mattress for drunk friends now boasted a crib that would convert into a toddler bed, a night stand, a changing table, a rocking chair, and a large set of dresser drawers that should last through Nadia's entire childhood. The evening had ended with them reinflating the mattress in the middle of the living room and settling their rather tired friends to sleep – Alex and April crashing on the mattress and Teddy falling down onto the couch.

If it hadn't been so embarrassing to her protégé, Callie would have laughed at the adorable picture the unconscious cuddling between April and Alex produced the next morning. She'd stumbled out to warm a bottle for Nadia to find the two of them curled together like puppies, April's hand scarily close to the top of Alex's jeans.

Callie concentrated on the moment. She had a fully put together nursery thanks to some mildly intoxicated friends, a wonderful wife who hadn't insisted on repainting their daughter's room pink (thankfully!), and a beautiful daughter. A beautiful daughter who was just starting to squirm in her other mother's grasp, waking up from her nap. Callie set down her things, and gently lifted Nadia from Arizona's chest – her wife murmuring but not fully coming to, she was so tired. Callie ran a hand through curly blond hair, sending Arizona back to her dreams.

"Well, little lady, is someone hungry?" she cooed at the baby in her arms. Juggling Nadia into one arm, she moved over towards the kitchen, grabbing a pre-made bottle from the fridge and settling it into a pan of water already on the stove.

She took a longer glance into the fridge. Most of what she saw were a handful of formula bottles they made each morning for ease of heating, beer, liquor, condiments, and the leftovers from last night's dinner. They really needed to go grocery shopping. She shrugged. They could survive on takeout for awhile.  _As long as we get back to eating real food by the time Nadia starts to wean_ , she reassured herself.  _And maybe cut back on the amount of booze we keep on hand._

Within a few minutes, her daughter was contentedly suckling on a bottle as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"How did I not wake up?" Arizona grumbled as she stumbled towards them.

"You almost did when I picked her up," Callie reassured her wife. "But I put you back to sleep. Stop being so Pavlovian if you don't like it."

"You rubbed my head, didn't you?" Arizona glared.

"Mmmhmmm." Callie set down the empty bottle and passed Nadia over to her other mom, who already had a towel thrown over her shoulder in preparation for burping. "I ran into Erica this morning," she remarked.

"How's the neighborhood fuzz?" Arizona asked with a grin as she did a gentle dance while rubbing Nadia's back.

"She's fine. Feds are in town, looking for Avery. She's got a new partner – Meredith's half-sister. And she bought a burn phone for us to use while contacting her. Apparently the feds are all over the local precinct, looking for dirty cops." Callie laughed, "Oh, and she says the fed hanging over her shoulder is a real dick."

Arizona smiled as Nadia let a loud belch out. "Well, they won't find any really dirty cops," she remarked. "Just ones like Erica who balance the letter of the law with justice and what's best for the city."

"Technically, Erica could be considered dirty. She's never tried to bring me in, despite seeing some of my work, not even when we broke up. Badly," Callie noted.

"I know, I know. But really, any super dirty cop we take care of." She shrugged, "Didn't you get rid of her last partner for trying to shake down that homeless kid you're friends with?"

Callie shrugged, "Details. That guy was a creep. He didn't want to protect and serve, he wanted to carry a gun and look powerful." She turned to start a pot of coffee, "Besides, Billy doesn't do anything more illegal than sleep on the streets and go through dumpsters. No reason to threaten to take him back to a home where his old man's been popped for domestic assault a dozen times."

Arizona hummed, still dancing around the kitchen. "So, is Erica seeing anyone?" she inquired innocently.

"No, and she doesn't want you setting her up again. She still hasn't forgiven you for that girl you met at Teddy's roller derby meet."

"How was I supposed to know she had a cop fetish?!" Arizona said indignantly.

"It wasn't just a mild fetish, it was a full blown obsession, honey. And creepy. Her dungeon was a replica of a holding cell. Give Erica time. You know she'll want to blow off some steam soon enough, and she isn't fond of picking up women in bars."

"It worked before," Arizona nodded at her wife.

Callie turned a bright red. "And I'm married to  _you_  now so it didn't really work out that well in the end, now did it?" She sidled up to her family, and settled her hands on Arizona's hips, swaying them together. She snuck a kiss, moving them into the open space in the living room. "How about a little dance party?"

Arizona laughed, "I'll dance with you anytime, Calliope." Together the little family danced to the soundtrack of children's television playing on the TV.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Callie stared at the computer screen in front of her, one foot gently rocking the bouncer her daughter was cradled in as she typed.  She hated employee evaluations.

 

_Has a great right hook, and her use of blades is phenomenal_ was rewritten to _Assertive, with a strong skill set for her position._   Then she checked the boxes recommending April for a bonus and a raise.  Her protégé was worth it, she was even in the middle of some online accounting courses to make her more versatile within the organization.  Callie could appreciate a woman using her brains and her muscle, even if she and April had had a rough start as a team.

 

While she appreciated that Grey Enterprises LTD was the official employer of herself and her subordinates, since the company offered good benefits and a more standard W2 made filling out her taxes easier, she despised having to fill out publicly acceptable forms.  Actually, she just despised forms in general, but she especially hated having to translate what she did into the gibberish that didn’t make her sound like a thug.  She _was_ a thug, and she was okay with that.  She was a thug with a brain, who was also a fairly decent person, she liked to think, a pretty damn good wife, and at least an acceptable mommy, if the adorable smile her daughter was giving her at the moment was any indication.  They had recently passed the point where smiles equaled only gas, and made it to the land of smiles actually meant smiles.

 

Meeting Nadia’s eyes, she grinned broadly as her daughter gurgled and waved her hands.  With a laugh herself, she set aside the laptop and reached to pick her daughter out of the bouncer.  Settling the little one into her arms, she started to quietly croon one of the songs her mother had sung to her as a child.

 

With a gentle click, she heard the front door unlock and open.  “And momma’s home!” Callie whispered.  She felt the warmth of her wife behind her, blond hair coming into her vision from the side, Arizona draping herself over Callie’s strong back.

 

“How are my beautiful girls today?”

 

“Better, now,” Callie grinned as Arizona blushed lightly.  “We were just having a bit of a sing-along.”

 

“Without me?” Arizona asked, a pout on her face.

 

“Weeellll… yes.”  She shifted over on the couch, making a free spot, “But now munchkin can have both her moms for the sing-along.”

 

Arizona shrugged out of her jacket and carefully flopped down onto the couch, sliding an arm around Callie’s body and using her free hand to tickle the sole hidden by tiny footy pajamas.  “And what were we singing?”

 

Callie cleared her throat softly, “Umm… whatever you want, babe.”  She shrugged, “I don’t think your Spanish is good enough yet to sing what I was.”

 

Arizona raised an eyebrow at her wife.  “It will be, soon.  I promised you Nadia would be bilingual, and it would help if both her moms spoke Spanish around her.”

 

“And you’re doing great!  I promise!”  Callie refused to think of the various rude/obscene/hilarious things her wife had accidentally said in the past while trying to speak Spanish.  Breaking out into laughter at this point would be counterproductive.

 

Narrowed blue eyes met her innocent expression.  “I’m not sure I believe you, Calliope, but I’m trying.  I even ordered a Rosetta Stone!”

 

Privately, Callie thought that could only help, “That’ll be good, babe.”  She curled her lips into a smirk, “I’m not sure I’m teaching you all the vocabulary you need to know, anyway.”  Leveling her gaze at her wife’s outstanding breasts, Callie leered openly.

 

Flushing, Arizona licked her lips.  “Behave,” she scolded with a grin.  “None of that right now.”  She met her wife’s eyes steadily, “Though of course, she’ll hear those words tonight, I think.”

 

“Good thing she’s too young to remember them,” Callie pointed out.

 

With Nadia kicking lightly in Callie’s arms, Arizona was free to lean over and tug Callie’s earlobe with her teeth.  Gently, of course.  Just enough for a moan to work its way free of Callie’s throat.

 

“ _Behave_ ,” came the guttural admonition.  Apparently neither of them were going to actually follow through on the idea of behaving – not when such a wonderful, sexy woman was there to tempt them.

 

“I will,” promised Arizona, standing up and steadying herself before offering a hand to her wife.

 

“ _Will_ is for the future.  Are you behaving _now_?” Callie smirked, taking the proffered hand and levering herself out of her seat with Nadia cradled in her other arm.

 

“Possibly,” was Arizona’s impish reply, dimples making an appearance.  Together, the pair made their way over to the kitchen, Callie grabbing a bottle out of the fridge to heat for Nadia while Arizona started to assemble dinner for the adults of the household.

 

Callie supervised Arizona’s cooking carefully.  Her memory of the stirfry-from-hell was still far too sharp.  Luckily neither of them had gotten sick, but the taste would linger in her mind for years.  Within an hour, Nadia was fed, burped, and growing sleepy while her mothers had eaten dinner and done the dishes.  _Evening_ turned into true _night_ as Nadia nodded off in her bouncer, while Callie and Arizona simply watched their daughter.

 

It was everything Callie had ever wanted since she was a child – the loving spouse and child she’d craved, wanting to give her child(ren) everything she had been denied as a girl: stability, open affection, freedom instead of the harsh upbringing she had endured.  It was everything Arizona had desired upon meeting Callie – that ephemeral future she’d never quite envisioned that suddenly became insistently real when the two had first laid bare and twined together under soft sheets and covered in a sheen of well-earned sweat.

 

“I think someone needs to be in her crib,” murmured Arizona.

 

“So mommies can have a bit of grown-up time?” Callie asked hopefully.  Their eyes met, blue to brown, and Arizona gulped, nodding.

 

With gentle hands, Arizona freed her daughter from the bouncer, rocking her softly as she stirred and then moved into the nursery.  They’d bribed April, who was a bit of an artist, to paint a simple border reminiscent of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe - complete with King Friday’s Castle, Oak Tree, Grandfather Clock, and Museum-Go-Round.  Callie had smiled at Arizona’s enthusiastic insistence on the theme, indulging her wife with the surprise of a wooden Trolley replica a week after the border was painted and even buying Arizona a zip-up cardigan.  Arizona had squealed in delight at the Trolley and the sweater.  Callie had come home more than once in the past week alone to Arizona wearing it and watching Mister Rogers with their daughter.  Her wife was a child, sometimes.  Adorable, full of life and enthusiasm.  It was as if she was rediscovering the world through Nadia’s eyes, shedding the world-weary cynicism she had carried like a heavy cross since the car crash that took her leg.

 

But right then, Arizona was a mother, tenderly tucking Nadia into her crib, rubbing soothing circles on a tiny belly as the little girl fussed, singing softly.  Though once Callie caught the words of the song, she was hard pressed not to laugh.  Her wife’s obsession came through as Callie joined in, singing, “It's such a good feeling to know you're alive.”

 

When Nadia was settled and snoozing, Callie slipped behind Arizona, sliding her arms around her wife as Arizona nestled back into the embrace.  For long minute, the two women simply watched Nadia breathe in and out.  It was enough.  It was everything.

 

Callie switched on the monitor and turned off the light, then moved her hands to Arizona’s hips, leading the both of them backwards, out of Nadia’s room.  Arizona closed the door behind them as Callie pressed a kiss to her neck.

 

A soft groan was all the response Callie needed from her wife.  She directed them into their own bedroom, pressing Arizona into the door as it shut.  Lips met fiercely, need burning in both of them.  Life with a newborn was a challenge to both, and the frequent, casual sensuality of their relationship had taken a temporary backseat to diaper changes and midnight feedings.

 

Nadia had slept through the night for the first time the week before.  The bone-deep exhaustion was waning.  Energy was returning for the both of them.

 

Arizona slid one hand into dark hair, the other cupping a firm ass.  She moaned as Callie’s tongue traced her lips, opening her mouth to her wife’s explorations.

 

Tonight?  Tonight was for them.  Need and lust and love swirled together until they were naked in bed, muscles arching and cries muffled.  Hours later, sated and happy, they curled into each other, Arizona burrowed in Callie’s arms and both listening to not only their own breathing but the soft sounds of their daughter’s sleep in the next room.  With that, skin to skin, their love reaffirmed, they drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arizona has a mild obsession with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I think this is a good thing.


End file.
